Friday, October 7, 2011

About that FIFA Scrum

In a sensational session at
Play the Game, FIFA’s new communications director, Walter De Gregorio,
confronted Andrew Jennings during a session on corruption in FIFA and
refuted the veteran investigative journalist’s claim that he was banned
from the world body for his tough line on questioning corruption claims.

De Gregorio insisted that Jennings was banned from FIFA’s
headquarters in Zurich for making press conferences “his own platform”
and taking up too much time in sessions that are strictly limited to 15
minutes.
Jennings vehemently denied this suggestion, insisting that his
behavior had always been “polite”, and told De Gregorio that he had been
banned after writing a story on a personal bonus paid to by FIFA to
President Sepp Blatter.

The pair initially clashed after Jennings claimed that FIFA met all
the definitions of the mafia with an all-powerful don surrounded “by
greedy crooks”, provision of “protection” and a code of “omerta” that
silenced any whistleblowers through exile.

De Gregorio, who only signed up for the conference two days earlier, was picked out in the audience by Jennings and challenged.

De Gregorio took the microphone and told Jennings and a packed
audience: “Mafia killed and raped thousands of people. It’s
disrespectful to FIFA and to people who lost their lives.”

The former editor of Swiss newspaper Blick, De Gregorio only started
working at FIFA this week. After the session, he told a throng of
reporters that Blatter had personally wished him “Good luck” after
telling the FIFA supremo that he was coming to Cologne for Play the Game
for a session on FIFA.

De Gregorio insisted to reporters that, now on the inside, he did
criticize FIFA and asked “difficult questions”. He added that “FIFA is
very complex” and very different on the inside to the public perception.

Media coalition files for release of files
The session was
left in little doubt to Jennings’ perception of the world body. The
English journalist said that he was confident a challenge to a Swiss
court to release sealed documents relating to the case involving FIFA,
kickbacks for media rights and the failed marketing group ISL would
eventually be released.

The case, which was closed last year,
involved compensation and allegedly cleared Blatter and two other
unnamed executives. Jennings questioned why documents for a case that
allegedly cleared those involved should be suppressed. He is leading a
coalition of media organizations, including the BBC, fighting a Zug
court to release the documents – a challenge that FIFA is opposing.

“Why are FIFA spending money on expensive lawyers to suppress
documents?” asked Jennings, who waved a paper at De Gregorio listing 167
bribe payments over the ISL case and warned the FIFA communications
director: “There is more coming.”

Proof will come
Jennings was joined on stage by German
investigative journalist Jens Weinreich who, like his English colleague,
also recounted details of how he has been exiled from FIFA’s
headquarters for asking difficult questions about corruption.

The pair both told the audience that further revelations about FIFA would be coming out soon.
Weinreich earlier claimed that the cost of buying a vote during the
recent shambolic World Cup bid process was 20 million US dollars, which
was “often transferred to secret tax havens.”

"I am hearing a lot about one-day accounts, one-day companies,” added
Weinreich. “This is more complicated than money in brown envelopes
pushed under doors. Can we prove it? Not just now.”
Weinreich called for the formation of a wide-ranging commission of
law enforcement agencies, forensic accountants and members of the media
to combat the corruption in FIFA.

Jennings and Weinreich both agreed that all FFA documentation should
be put on line and meetings of bodies, such as the ethics committee,
should be streamed over the Internet.

“There’s a need for total transparency and right now, I don’t see
any” said Weinreich, who added: “Interpol should investigate FIFA.”

Below are Jennings and De Gregorio exchanging views after the session, a sight not likely to be seen again anytime soon.

Yes, I went there immediately. I don't know my global law of libel, but crikey how does he get away with it? Marvellous. From my knowledge of Formula 1, where these practices are common and seemingly acceptable in what is essentially a private company, I find I couldn't be less surprised. It just isn't public knowledge re FIFA, which is surprising.

About This Blog

This blog is my professional notebook for commentary and analysis related to sports in society. My main interests are in the governance of international football (soccer), the governance of college athletics and sport as a laboratory for social science research.

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